Machine for performing finishing operations upon boot or shoe parts



July 2, 1929. A. D. WILLHAUCK MACHINE FOR PERFORMING FINISHING OPERATIONS UPON BOOT OR SHOE PARTS Filed Jan. 21, 1926 H I i LJM 6 Q 7 7 fl--- :1 w H K ir/{i My w I A P S. 5 {I lllll ll. fi a H w 6 u v l W1 7 /NVENTUR- Patented July 2, 1929.

NlTED STATES SHOE IVIACHINERY CORPORATION, OF NEW J ERSEY.

PATENT oFFlcE.

AUGUFsTUS n. WILLHAUCK, on CAMBRIDGE, nnssaonusnrrs, Asslenon To UNITED or eernnson, JERSEY, A conronamon MACHINE FOR IERFORMING- FINISI-IIIIG OPERATION$ UPON BOOT OR SHOE PARTS.

Application filed January 21, 1926,3eria1 No. 82,698, and, in. Great Britain lJecember 17, 1925.

Tl ris i nven tion rel ates to i m echines for pertorming finishing operations upon boot or shoe parts and is herein illustrated as e1nbodied in an upper seam n'essing or rubbing mechine ol the type described in Letters Patent ot' the United States No. 1,701,845 granted l ebruary 12, 1929, in the name of F. M. Fur-her.

tn the machine disclosed in the patent relerred to a. seam :llnttening hamn'ier moving through an orbital. path, arranged to deliver a rapid succession o'li wiping; blows to a seznrr, and a seam opening tool. located in advance oi? the lmnnner and a rrangcdto pa r tzdce of its orl'iital n'io'vement, is repeatedly depressed between the margins ot" theseam and tlniujtlons to open the seam by an int-ernnttent elawingor scratching action adapted to preveiit a n nninp' oil. thework.

One object ot the present invention is to provide an improved machine for performii'igiinishinp; operations upon boot and shoe parts, which will be adaptedto peritorm seampressi n; operations, and by whichthe pertornianre oi? such operations may be still turther facilitated liiy insuringr that the seam will be so prepared tor the operation of the pressing or flattening means that the pressed sean'i will be uniformly smooth and even throughout its length.

To the acconiplishment o'l this object one Feature of the invention consists in the combination, in a machine etf theeless described, ot a .tinishing' tool movable back and forth along the sin-tare of the work, and a preparing tool slidably supported upon the finishing tool and held in eoi'itii'inous engagement with the work but mounted to yield, in res mnse to irregularities and variatimis in the work without ino'wnp the finishing tool. in the machine herein illustrated the finishing; tool consif its oil :1 inei'nber or hanuner -tor pressing or tilattenin}; a sean'n such as the hack seam ot a shoe upper, and the }I repa.ring tool is in the nature of a pie r iii-ranged to open the seam ainfl'tmrn the margins thereol over against the bmly o'l thework before the seam is acted upon by the lmmmer. lVhile being operated upon the work is supported upon and led over the periphery of driven "teed roll. toward and l'ron'r theworh, moves-also in a,

.lhe lmmmer in addition to inovin direction to co-operate with the feed. roll in feeding the work while the plow is mounted upon the han'in'un' tor n'iovement with the hammer in the direction or feed o't the work but the plow is arrengedto be independent of the movement of the hamn'ier toward and ililflll l lille work. The plow is acted upon by a light spring which urges ittownrd a fixed stop arranged to limit the approach of the plow toward the work supporting; roll. This spring exerts only a light pressure upon the plow but the pressure is sulficient to prevent the plow from partaking of the movement of the hammer toward rind from the work and to maintain the plow continuously in operati ve engagement with. the work. The plow is permitted, however, to yield readily jas may be required to accon miodate variations in the thickness of the work. As shown, the plow is provided with :1 central wedge-shaped rib for entering readily between the margins of a closed seam, and a seam ei'igaging surt'ace formed at cachside ol. the rib,ea -h surface being curved in two directions transverse to each other and arranged to extend both lengthwise and crosswise of n seam which is being operated uponso that the seam mart 'ins are separated and turned over "toward the taco oi? the work by gradual turning or rolling; UlOVPlUPl'ltS pro g i ling simultaneous ly ontwarifl and downward. lnasmu ch as the plow is shaped as just described and is urrenged to remain continuously within the seam the seam willbe opened smoothly and uniformly tln'ougrhout its lengtlr In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, the transverse curvature of the seam engaging face-s ol the plow is made such that th outer ed go portions of these faces at the rear ol? the plow project downwardly substantially below thehighest portions in the rerir ed of these tacos. In operation these p rejecting edge portions of the plow direct the outer'edges ol the sezininia i ns downwardly toward or against the face of thework, thus rollin over the margins and causing them to bulge upwardly between their outer edges and theline o'l't stitching, lVhen seam margins which have been thus prepared are acted upon by the pressing member the latter functions m( stetlectively to flatten the seam and to insure permanence in the set ol" the seam.

Fig. 1, showing the plow and the work support and a piece of work being operated upon;

\ Fig. '3 is a perspective View of the seam openin'g'plow'; and i Fig. 4 is'a perspective view of'the plow, to-

i getherwithportio'ns of'the pressing member,

the worl'r'support, and the seam guiding fingers, showing 'these'parts in operation upon apieceof work; p

stated 'above, the illustrated machine is of'theftype disclosed in Letters Patent No.

1,701,845, before referred to, and reference may be hadther'eto for adetailed description of'the construction and'operation of parts not herein fully disclosed.

In the illustrated machine, a work-supportingfeed roll, indicated at 6', is driven, in the direction of the -arrow in- Fig. 1, from a main shaft 7 through driving connections comprising abevel gear 8 fixed to the feed roll 6 and a bevel pinion 9 meshingwith the bevel gear 8.

Thefinaehine also comprises a seam opening plow 12 'adapted'for separating and turning back the margins of a seam in a piece of work, such as shown at W in Figs. 2 and 4, to prepare the seam for pressing and flattening, a pair of fingers 10 for engaging the outer surfaces of the margins ofthe seam before it is opened and guiding the'seam to the plow, and a seam pressing member or hammer 14, which operates to press 'and'flatten the seam progressively after ithas been prepared by the plow.

Thehammer 14' is pivotally mounted between thearms of a yoke 16 arranged to rock about arod 18 and the hammer is moved through anorbital path by means of a continuously rotating eccentric 20 on the main shaft 7 to enable. the hammer to impart'intermittent ironin blows tothe work which is both flattened and fed over the roll thereby. The

I work engaging portion of the hammer is shaped to conform to the slight bulge or convex curvature of theperiphery of the feed roll crosswise of'the direction of feed and the arrangeme-nt is such that the foremost edge por- I ary member 24 which is slotted'as indicated at 26 to embrace the workengaging portion of the hammer 14 so that heat may be readily transmitted fromthe member 24 to the hammer. p

The seam opening plow 12 is mounted upon the seam pressing hammer 14 and it is guided for up-and-down sliding movement-s relatively to the hammer by means of a rod 28 which extends through the. plow and is secured at its opposite ends to the hammer, and the plow is urged downwardly by the pressure of a light spring 30 which encircles the rod 28 bet ween the plow and a shouldered portion 32 of the hammer. As herein illustrated, the plow 12 and the hammer 14- are relatively so arranged that while the plow partakes of the back-:md-forth movements of the hammer it does not partake f the up-and-down movements thereof which force the plow against the scam through the spring 30 which maintains the plow continuously in operative position within the seam. In order that the sprng 30 shall be effective for the purpose stated, either the hammer 14- or the plow 12 is cut away to provide space :31 between the vertically overlapping portions of the plow and the hammer, and the plow is provided with stop lugs 36 which project from its opposite sides and are normally held by the light pressure of the spring 30 in engagement with the upper edge surfaces of the slotted extremity of the heated member 24, all as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The stop lugs 30 function to determine the normal vertical position of the plow and to prevent it from coming into contact with the feed roll 6. By providing the space 3+t between the hammer and the plow the hammer is enabled to rise and fall without producing a corresponding rising and falling movement of the plow and thus, although the plow is constrained to move back and forth in unison with the hammer, it will not be lifted out of the seam when the hannner rises but will remain in the seam at all times.

The plow 12 is formed with a central depending rib or tin 40 arranged to enter between the sides or margins of a closed scam. The rib 10 is highest at its front end to accommodate the widest seam which is to be operated upon and the front end of the plow is defined by a sharp vertical edge 42 which facilitates the entrance of the plow between the margins of the seam as the work is fed past the reciprocating plow. The rib -10 also has a well-defined and fairly sharp lower edge 14 which extends throughout the length of the plow and is arranged as best shown in Fig. 1 so as substantially to conform to the curvature of the work supporting feed roll. The stop lugs 36 position the plow with the rib 4O spaced. away from the periphery of the feed roll 6 so that the rib of the plow will continuously be located between the scam margins in position to ride along the line of stitches making up the seam practically without exerting any pressure upon the stitches. To enable the plow to perform its seam opening function, the opposite sides of the rib 4O taper both upwardly from the lower edge of the rib and rearwardly from the forward orentering end of the rib. The tapering sides of the rib ternnnate 1n curved surfaces tltl llt)

h'amn'ler the action of thelat scam, after it is pressed.

tures of the seam engaging surfaces of the upon by the plow. Each of these seam engagin snrfares slopes down 'ardly lengthwise of the scam in a reverse curve from a high point at the forward end of the rib to a low point slightly above the rear end of the ribl With the above described co 'istruction thesides or margins of a seam will be turned over against the face of the workby a rolling or molding action which progresses gradually and simuh t-rneously in directions both lengthwise and crosswise of the seam. By maintaining the plow within the seam at all times so that the lower-edge of the rib 4:0 rides continuously along; the line of stitches, the sides of the seam will be held in rolled over or spread apart condition up to the very instant when they are engaged. by the hammer leiso that there is no opportunity for them to become displaced before being subjected to the heavy pressure of the lnunmerq lllllS insures against possibility of i irregularity in the appearance of the The gradual c1 1 rvaplow, the absence of any sharp edges or corners which might tend to become en'ibedded in the material operated upon, and they straight line reciprocating movementof the plow which results in alternately accelerating and retarding the seam openingaction as the work is being (mitmuously fed past the plow,

are all efl e are to insure against possibility of the work becoming jan'nned between the pie and the feed roll. i

At the rear ofthe plow, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the transverse curvature of the seam engaging faces is such thatthe edge portions 4-6 farthest from the rib li) project downwardly substantially below the highest points of these faces and when a wide seam is being acted upon, these edge portions of the plowdirect the edges of theseam ma rgins down 'ardly, causing the margins after being spread apart bythe plow, to have a crosssectional contour bulging outwardly from the fare of the worl; between the line of jSiJ'lj-Cll inp; and the outer edges of the seam marpins, as shown in Fig. 2.

inasn'nich as it aqiipears that when the mar- ,e'ins are thus prepared before reaching the ter s particitilarly effective to flatten the seal'n andto insure permanence in the set thereof.

The invention havin been described, what I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States is:

operations upon boot or shoe parts, a finishdevice movable with the seam p1.

work;

This is desirable ing tool movable backand forth along the surface of thework, and a preparing tool slidably supported upon the finishing tool andl'ield continuously in yielding engagement withthe work.

2.111 aseam pressing machine, the combination with a seam pressing HIQUlbGI, of means for moving the pressing); men'lber to ward andffrom a seam, a seam opening device carried by said presing member, and means for holdii'ig said device constantly in engagement with the work to prevent it from partaking of the movement of the pressing" member toward and from the work.

3. In a seam .pr ing machine, in combination, a seam pressure member movable towardand from the work and also movablein a direction to feed the work, and a seam openment with the work 41-. In a seam pressing machine, in combination, a seam pro 119; meniber movable toward. and from the work and also movable in a direction to feed the work, a seam (mening ssing member in its work feeding movelnents but arrranged to be indepemlcnt of the movement of said member toward and from the work, anda spring for maintaining the seam openng deiuce constantly m engageinent with the 5. In a seam pressing machine, the combination Wlill seam pre sling member movable toward and from the work an d also 1n an other direction to feed the work, of a seam opening devicearranged to partake of the feed movement oi the pressingmei'nberbut not of the iovements of said member toward and from the work.

6. In a seam pressing; machine, in combination, a support for a piece of work having a seam, a. n-esser i'nember movable toward and fron'i the support for pressing the sides of the seam against the support and back and forth to feed the work over the support, and a seam andforth to feed the work over, the support, and aseam opening device arranged to parta roof the hue: and forth niovementsof the ftn'esser nien'lber but not ofthe up and down n'ioveinentsthereof. 8. In aseam pressing; machine, in combination, a support for a piece of work having a loo ward and from the support for pressing the sides of th e m against the support an d back seam, a presser member movable toward and I from the support for pressing the sides of the seam against the supportand back and forth to feed the work over the support, a seam opening device carried by the presser member and movable back and forth in unison therewith, and means for preventing the. seam opening device from partaking of the up and down movements of the presser member.

9. In a seam pressing machine, in combination, a support for a piece ofwork having a seam, a presser member movable toward and from the support for pressing the sides of the seam against the support and back and forth to feed the work over the support, and a seam .openin g device carried by the presser member, said device being movable back and forth in unison with the presser member and being capable of up and downmovement relatively thereto, and means independent of the presser memberfor limiting the downward move- ,ment of the seam opening device.

10. In a seam pressing machine, in combination, a support for a piece of work having ".a seam, a presser member movable toward and from the support for pressing the sides of the seam. against the support and back and forth to feed {the work over the support, a seam opening device, yielding means for urging said device toward the work support, and means for limiting the movement of said device under the action of'said yielding means.

, 11. In a seam pressing machine, in combination, a support for a piece of workhaving a scam, a presser member movable towardv and from the supportfor pressing the sides of the seam against the support and back and forth to feed the work over the support, a seam opening device mounted for back and forth movements inunison with theback and forth ino veinents ofthe presser member, and a fixed abutment for preventing movement of the .seamopenlnggdevice below a normal vertical position. J

. nation, a support for apiece of work having a seam, a presser member movable toward and from the support for pressingthe sidesof 112. In a seam pressing nachine,in combithe seam against the supportand back and forth to feed the work over the support, a

seam .opening,devicemountedfor back and forth movementsinunison with the back and forth movements o f t he ,pr,esser member, a

I fixed abutment for preventing movement of the seam opening device below anormal verticalposit o nand yieldlng means permitting upward move ncntpf the seam opening device relativelyto the pressermember. V

' V 13. Ina sea-1n pressing machine, in combi- ,nation, a rotary support for a piece of work having aseam, a .presser member movable toward and from the support for pressing the sides of the seam against the support and back I h and f orth to ,feed the work over the support,

a seamopening plow continuously maintained in position to open the seam and turn the sides back against the face of the work, and means for intermittently moving the presser member and forcing the plow toward the support.

14:, In a seam pressing machine, in combination, a roller support for a piece of work having a seam, a hammer for feeding the work from the support and pressing the seam againstjthe support, a plow carried by the hammer for opening the seam, a stationary heating member in sliding engagement with the hammer, means for pressing the plow toward the work, and means on the plow for cooperating with the heating member to position' the plow in operative relation with the work.

15. In a seam pressing machine, in combination, a seam pressing hammer lraving an orbital movement, a seam opening device movable in unison with the hammer and capable of movement relatively to the hammer in two directions, and means tending to prevent movement of said device in any other direction relatively to the hammer.

16. In a seam pressing machine, in combi nation, a seam support, a member to flatten the seam against the support, a seam opening device carried by said member and yieldingly urged toward said support, and means independent of the seam flattening member for limiting the movement of the seam opening device.

17. In a seam pressing machine, in combination, a seam support, a movable seam pressing member .to flatten the seam against the support, a seam opening device yieldingly mounted on the seam flattening member and continuously maintained in seam opening position, and means for intermittently 1noving the pressing member and forcing the plow against the seam.

18. In a seam pressing machine, in combination,.a seam support, a member to flatten the seam against the support, a. seam opening device continuously maintained in seam opening position above the support and shaped simultaneously to open the seam and turn the sides thereof backwardly and down-- wardly against the face of the work. and means for moving the seam opening device back and forth lengthwise of the seam.

19. In a seam pressing machine, in combination, a seam pressing hammer, a seam opening device movable relatively to the hammer inone direction and in unison with the hammer in another direction, and means for limiting the movement in one direction of the seam pressing member relatively to the hammer.

20. In a seam pressing machine, a seam support, means co-operating with the support to press a seam, a plow movable relatively to the support for opening the scam in advance lllii of the pressing member, an eccentric for moving the plow, and means constructed and arranged to render the eccentric ineffective to move the plow except in the plane of the work.

521. In a seam pressing machine, a seam opening plow having seam engaging surfaces curving about axes transversely disposed with respect to each other for separating the margins at opposite sides of a scam in a piece of work and for turning the margins over against the face of the work, an oscillatory carrier on which the plow is yieldingly mounted, and means for oscillating said carrier to move the plow lengthwise oi' the seam.

22. For use in a seam pressing machine, a yieldingly mounted seam opening plow constructed and arranged to present seam en gaging surfaces curving gradually both len tliwlse and crosswise of a seam which is bein onened b the slow the outer lateral a: I edges of these surfaces at the rear ot the plow pro ectmg downwardly substantially below the highest portions of the rear edges of these faces.

23. In a seam pressing machine, a seam opening plow having seam engaging surfaces curving about axes at right angles to each other to separate the margins at opposite sides ot a seam, and means for reciprocating the plow while continuously maintaining it substantially in rubbing contact with the stitches of the seam.

24. For use in a seam pressing machine, a seam opening plow having a depending central rib for separating the margins of a seam, and transversely curved seam engaging faces located at opposite sides of the rib and terminating at their outer portions in edges located sid'istantially below the highest points in said faces for rolling the outer G( ges of the seam margins over toward the face of the work.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

aUoUsTUs D. WILLI-IAUCK. 

